Tears of the Wronged
by melonkitty
Summary: After the battle against Lady Loranna it is discovered that only one person was alive in her dungeon a girl- half human half elf. Keridyn is a Rider from before the Fall with a dark past concerning Galbatorix and his betrayal. But why is she still alive?
1. An Unreleased Prisoner

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: This is based after Brisingr

**One: An unreleased prisoner**

"Are you absolutely sure?" Eragon asked as one of the Varden's soldiers returned with news of there only being one living prisoner within the dungeons of Lady Lorana.

"Yes, Shadeslayer, we are certain. But if you ask me she is nearer to death than those already dead." The soldier replied.

"Why do you say that?" Eragon asked, somewhat worried about what this soldier meant by that statement.

The soldier seemed to recall something, and shivered. "Well, for someone to act like that, there has to be something wrong with her."

"Ah," Eragon said. "Take me to her."

The soldier bowed and led Eragon through Lady Lorana's house until they reached the dungeon and saw Arya waiting at the door.

"Eragon, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I heard that there was only one prisoner alive in here, as well of strange behavior coming from that prisoner. Why are you here?" He answered, as he moved to let the soldier unlock the door.

"Do you know who is in this dungeon?" Arya asked.

"No."

"Good, then you don't have to worry." She replied mysteriously.

As soon as the door was open Arya was inside and had magically opened the girls cell door.

An elvish looking girl sat shaking and mumbling, almost screaming, within the cell. Her clothes were shabby and had hundreds of holes torn in them, her right eye was covered by a dark and dirty old piece of cloth torn from the hem of her long sleeve shirt. She had no hair, apparently burned off by the scars on her head, several scars ran down her face, one ,very noticeably white, ran down her face from her covered eye to her chin.

The girl flinched from Arya's touch, screaming, but muttering told Eragon that Arya had put the girl to sleep, before she picked her up.

"Arya, who is she?" Eragon asked as she passed him.

"Her name is Keridyn." Arya answered.

"I asked you who she is, Arya."

"Then look at her hand." Arya replied.

Eragon's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He took the girls hand and looked at it. Then his eyebrows rose to their maximum height. "How-"

"She is from before the fall of the Riders, Eragon. It was then that I originally met her." Arya told him as she scaled the stairs.

Eragon ran to follow. "She's an old rider?"

"Yes." Arya said as they reached the top of the stairs. From there she made her way towards Nasauda's pavilion. "You may want to ask Elva to leave."

"Why?"

"Keridyn has suffered the most these last hundred years, I assure you. It is what drove her mad in that cell. Imagine how it would have been if you were a dragon rider from before and were in his imprisonment. I did not think she was alive."

As they came to the front of the pavilion Elva met them at the tent flap. The look on her face was shocking. It looked as though she were suffering from a deep sadness and despair, but the tears in her eyes portrayed something far different.

"Let her tell them herself, Elva. Robbing her of the chance to let them know her for who she is would be unfair." Arya told the young girl.

Elva nodded her head and ran off.

"What was that about?" Eragon asked.

"I will not be the one to tell you." Was Arya's only reply.

The guards stopped them before they entered. "Arya and Eragon to see you my lady, they also have someone else with them."

"Who is with them?" Nasauda called from inside.

"Lady Nasauda, I will not explain this to you by shouting, but the girl I am carrying is older than this war and was the only person alive within Lorana's dungeon." Arya replied impatiently.

Nasauda then appeared at the open tent flap. "Who is this girl?"

Arya moved around Nasauda and put the girl on a nearby chair. "Her name is Keridyn, she is a Rider from before the rise of Galbatorix."

The eys of the leader of the Varden grew noticab;y larger in size. "You knew this girl from before?"

Arya nodded her head. "Keridyn was my friend before the Riders' fall. I thought for sure she was dead."

Nasauda looked at the sleeping girl. "Is she an elf?"

"Not entirely." Arya responded.

"What do you mean?"

"Her mother was an elf, her father was not."

"That makes her half human." Eragon realized.

_Eragon, don't get your hopes up. Would you destroy your friendship with Arya over the faint hope that if the both of you do fall in love that it is possible for you to have children. _Saphira reminded him.

"Who were her parents?" Nasauda asked.

"That I can't say. You would have to ask her." Arya replied. "But I would recommend not entering her mind, it wasn't a good idea a hundred years ago, I highly doubt it is now."

"Why is that?" Eragon asked.

"You can tell from experience that the elven mind is no place for humans, it is so even with her. However, because she is both half elf and half human, her mind is no place for an elf. I once entered her mind with her guidance, I would not dare to do it again without her help." Arya answered. "But, I wouldn't want you all around when she wakes. With a mind like that and a memory like hers, paired with all that she's been through, it may be disastrous."

"Too late." Eragon said as he noticed the girl turning her head.

Arya rushed to her side. "Outside, both of you." She ordered.

They both obeyed her without question.

As the girls eye slowly opened she began to toss and turn and mumble. Arya grasped her shoulders, startling her.

"Keridyn, look at me. Look at me, Keridyn. Keri, you're fine. You're safe." She called calmly.

The girls unfocused eye suddenly found Arya. "Arya! Arya is that you?!"

Arya smiled. "Yes, it's me."

"Where am I?" She asked frightened.

Arya grasped Keridyn's arms firmly. "It doesn't matter where you are, you're safe. He won't hurt you anymore. You're with the Varden. He can't reach you, you're safe."

"You keep saying I'm safe, but why are you the only one here?" Keridyn asked.

"I sent them away. I thought it would be better if you woke to someone you knew." Arya answered.

"That's thoughtful of you, but it's been a hundred years since I last saw you."

"I thought the same thing."

The two smiled at eachother.

"Would you like to meet him?" Arya asked.

"Who?"

"The Dragon Rider of the Varden, the one who is opposing him."

Keridyn's eye widened, fear shone in her eye. "I would rather not yet. I fear what would happen if I did."

"Will you at least meet the leader of the Varden?" Arya asked.

"You won't let me be if I don't will you?"

"You know the answer already."

Keridyn smiled. "Then call the lady in, Arya. I owe some people an explanation." The she seemed to come to a decision. "And the Rider, I shouldn't be so afraid."

"You've suffered so much, it's understandable for you to be afraid of a Rider." Arya told her.

Keridyn shook her head. "No, it isn't. It's inexcusable, I'm afraid when I shouldn't be. Being afraid of a Rider is the equivalent of being afraid of myself. It is inexcusable Arya."

"Alright then." Ary said releasing the other girl and standing. "Nasauda, Eragon, you can come back in."

Nasauda and Eragon entered the pavilion but stood by the entrance.

"Keridyn, this is Lady Nasauda, daughter of Ajihad, leader of the Varden, and Eragon Bromsson, Dragon Rider. Lady Nasauda, Eragon, this is Keridyn, daughter of Maliarin, also a Dragon Rider."

"_Was,_ I was a Dragon Rider." Keridyn corrected. "My dragon was slain by Galbatorix in the last battle of Ilirea with King Evandar."

_Eragon, I worry for this girl, losing a dragon is hard on a Rider. Brom told us that. Along with what she inevitably went through after that, it's a wonder that she's still alive._

_ It sounds like you want to meet her, Sahpira._

_ I wouldn't mind meeting her._

_ Where have you been anyway?_

_ Flying around helping the soldiers round up stragglers of Lady Lorana's guard._

_ Ah. Perhaps you can meet her later._

"Keridyn, what was your dragons name?" Nasauda asked suddenly.

Sadness shown in Keridyn's one eye. "Faloreon. His name was Faloreon."

Nasaudsa nodded her head. "What happened to you eye?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're right eye. What happened?"

"Oh, uh, well." Keridyn shuddered. "I had an unfortunate encounter with Galbatorix."

"What happened to your dragon?" Eragon found himself asking.

Keridyn glanced at him. "The very same encounter. To torture my dragon he gouged my eye out with my own sword. To torture me he tortured my dragon with my sword as well gave him to Shruikan for a chew toy, then took his head off with my blade." Keridyn recounted morbidly. "Being imprisoned with him as a torturer was bad enough over a hundred years, having to look at my dear Faloreon's head, I'm still not sure how I found the reserve to live."

"I think it would be best if you had a bath and a good meal, Eragon, could you ask the guards to bring a tub of hot water, and where on earth is Elva?" Nasauda said.

"I left as they came in. I could feel Keridyn's emotional state even though she was asleep." Elva said from behind the tent flap. "I've never felt anyone with such conflicting emotions."

They all turned to look and see the young enchanted girl with tear streaks runnin down her face, in similar relations as Keridyn's scar.

"Well, I'll go get that bath." Eragon said as he slid out of the choking atmosphere.

Keridyn sighed. "I would apologize for that, but I'm not entirely responsible for it."

"You can't blame yourself Keridyn. All those years of imprisonment and torture from him have likely scarred you in more ways than one." Arya told her. "Especially being betrayed as you were."

"Betrayed?" Nasauda asked.

Keridyn looked ay Nasauda. "Galbatorix was a Rider, though he is older than I am by fifteen years he betrayed us all, the Riders were his home, my home, and he destroyed everything, killing everyone, including my mother."

"Your mother?"

"Yes, my mother was a Rider as well." Keridyn said.

A guard peeked through the door and dragged a metal tub inside the pavilion. "Here you are my Lady, and a change of clothes on Eragon's request."

"Thank you. Do you also happen to have a bandanna on you?" Nasauda asked.

"Yes, here you are my Lady." He told her as he pulled a white handkerchief from his armor.

"Now, let's get you clean."


	2. A childhood in ruins

**Alrighty, second chapter here. A forewarning, in this story the even numbered chapters are in Keridyn's past, beginning around when she was seven years old and various other times soon after. The odd numbered chapters are based in the present with Eragon, Elva and Nasauda. Arya appears in both the past and the present so don't get confused. I thank **Lost and Never Found **for the idea of going back and forth between past and present, this way the reader can understand more about Keridyn and her relations to Arya and Galbatorix without me having her tell her whole story in the present, because that would partially ruin how I wanted to portray her. Okay, I'm going to stop rambling now and get on with the story. ~melonkitty**

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: This is based after Brisingr

**Two: A childhood in ruins**

"Keridyn!" Yelled an elven woman. She was about five feet and eight inches in height, dressed in fine elven clothing, with a green sword and sheath slung around her waist. She stood in front of a young elvish looking girl, tapping her foot with her arms crossed. The very picture of an angered mother. "What have I told you about wandering around in the archival hall?"

"To not to, mother." The seven year old said. "But why can't I? There is nothing else in the library."

"Because you aren't a Rider. I've told you this many times already. You aren't allowed in there." The elf told her.

"Then I want to be a Rider."

"Don't say that." The elf turned around. "You're supposed to be in Ellesmera with Arya. How on earth did you get here?"

The young girl smiled slightly.

"Don't tell me Brom brought you back."

"But he did!"

"Ha, so he did bring you back!" The woman caught. She waved her finger at the girl. "Why do you insist on being here?"

"Because you're here, and all my friends are here. I'm not in the way anywhere. Mother please, I don't want to leave. I like living here."

"But you can't Keridyn, you know that." Her mother scolded. "You have to be a Rider, and you're too young for that sort of life. And I don't want that life for you."

"And what if it's what I want, then. How would you be able to stop me?" Keridyn asked seriously. "Would you try to stop me knowing that this is what I want?"

Her mother looked at Keridyn through caring eyes. "Keridyn, it's not like I don't know how useful you could be to the Riders, but I know how much doing this sort of thing can damage a person. Remember, I am a Rider, and never in all eternity would I wish the life of a Rider on you, nor would I allow it if possible." Her mother told her.

Keridyn sighed. "Arya should be here soon anyway."

"How do you know that?" Her mother asked.

Keridyn smiled slightly. "She told me that if I went missing that she would race over here, she knows where I am."

Her mother sighed once herself. "I swear, you and your father both." But then she stood up straight. "As long as I don't find you in the archival hall again, you're free to roam." Keridyn's face lit up in a smile. "Just don't get into any trouble, alright." Her mother reminded her.

Keridyn nodded her head quickly. Then turned around and ran off.

Her mother watched her until she was out of sight. "That girl will be the death of me." She mused to herself.

* * *

Keridyn wandered around Doru Araeba, on the island of Vroengard, looking down halls greeting people and Riders alike with a smile. This is where she wanted to be, whatever it took.

Then, she found a door she had never seen before. Huge wooden doors crossed with iron and decorated in elaborate carvings of dragons and Riders stood before her, a door she had not yet entered.

She carefully opened the door and was met by a slight breeze that ruffled her hair and the greatest sight her eyes had yet seen.

Lining the hall within the doors were thousands of pedestals and on those, were thousands and thousands of large stones; the eggs of many dragons.

"Well, greetings child." Came a voice to her left.

Keridyn turned quickly to see Vrael, the leader of the riders.

She immediately bowed and performed the proper signs of respect.

Vrael smiled as she stood. "That is not needed here, young Keridyn, for in here we are almost equals."

"What do you mean, Rider Vrael?" Keridyn asked warily.

Vrael's smile widened. "Had you ever seen that door before you entered it? Your answer should be no, and that is because one only sees that door when they think themselves ready to be Riders." He explained.

Keridyn's eyes went wide.

"Of course, whether or not you think yourself ready is not the deciding factor, go on, wander this hall, touch every egg, and see if you gain the approval of a dragon, child." He said extending his hand.

Keridyn looked at the hall with feelings of overwhelming proportions.

There were many colors, of course. Every color of blue, green, orange, red, and brown you could imagine, all laid out in lines. She ran her hand along most of them, before one specifically caught her eye. It was black as night, and it was veined and flecked with silver. When she put her hands on it she marveled at how smooth it was, then it grew warm beneath her hand.

Before both her and Vrael, cracks appeared on it's surface. After a moment a small, silver, baby dragon stood on the pedestal.

Keridyn smiled as she reached out to touch it. When it's reflective head brushed her hand it felt as though someone had lit a small fire on her palm and forearm, that burned all in her body.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pain numbed itself, and Vrael helped her to her feet.

"Well, young Rider, how do you feel?" He asked with a smile.

Keridyn was silent as she looked at her arm. The traditional gedwëy decorated her hand, but a tail also wound around her wrist three times.

"That is interesting, but normal enough, come, carry your dragon and we shall go see your mother." Vrael said with a slight smile.

* * *

Keridyn's mother was found flying with her dragon in the skies. Vrael called her down as Keridyn hid behind him.

As her mother dismounted her pale green dragon she sighed, not seeing the infant dragon in Keridyn's hands.

"What has she gotten into now, Vrael?" She asked.

"Nothing that could get her in trouble Maliarin. But it is something you may not approve of." Vrael told her. "She found the door into the Hall."

Her eyes went wide. She looked at Keridyn with a heavy sigh. "Well, it is what she said she wanted. "She said when she saw the infant dragon.

"So you do not disapprove?" Vrael's eyebrows rose

"Even if I disapproved, there is nothing I could do, it is what she wants for herself." Her mother replied. "What is his name, Keridyn."

Keridyn thought for a moment.

"Faloreon. I'll name him Faloreaon."

The infant dragon lept from her arms and raced around her legs.

"Faloreon it is then." Vrael said. "Well, welcome to the Riders, young Keridyn and Faloreon." He smiled.


	3. The Only One

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Three: The Only One**

Keridyn didn't really remember the last time she had had a bath.

Arya smiled slightly. "It may have been a century Keri, but I can tell you, you aren't getting out of this."

Keridyn's one grey dark eye went slightly wide.

"Alright, let's get rid of those rags." Nasuada said, reaching for her makeshift eye patch.

She inevitably regretted it as she revealed Keridyn's empty eye socket.

"Sorry."

"It's alright. It honestly doesn't bother me being half blind." Keridyn laughed slightly. "My mother used to tell me that I had the strangest eyes."

"Alright enough, once you're clean and dressed, we can go see how we'll take care of you." Arya told her. "No mercy, off with it."

"You never were easy on me, cousin." Keridyn remarked.

"Cousin?" Nasauda asked as she caught it.

Keridyn looked at her. "My mother was the sister of Queen Islanzadi. That makes Arya and I cousins."

"And not too friendly when it comes to fights." Arya said with a smile. "When I learned Keri was half human I sought her out and fought her, though she was only four she was quite skilled. Now, off with those rags before I rip it off your back."

Keridyn smiled as she obeyed.

Both the other women gasped at the scars on Keridyn's flesh. There was hardly a spot where it hadn't been destroyed.

"Keridyn…he did this?" Nasauda asked.

She nodded. "With my own sword, Evarinya."

Keridyn finished undressing and then stepped into the tub. After she had washed and dressed in the new clothes she put the new handkerchief around her eye.

"Better." Arya remarked.

Indeed, Keridyn looked nothing like when she had come in; her face was clean and she wore new clothes of tan and white.

Her tan pants fit well, and her white shirt and tunic accented her one dark grey eye well.

Suddenly, one of the guards announced that Eragon wished to enter.

"You can let him in, we're done now." Nasauda said.

When Eragon did enter, he was speechless. But quickly composed himself. "Keridyn, if I may ask, what was the name of your sword?"

Keridyn looked at him strangely. "Evarinya, why?"

Eragon produced a silver sword and sheath from behind him, shining like a mirror. "The soldiers raided the armory. They thought it was just a magnificent sword, but I can tell Rhunön's work when I see it."

Keridyn looked at it with a distant gaze. "Back in my own hands, huh? Rhunön had a hard time making that. The jewel in the hilt is a diamond I mined myself, the purest thing she'd ever seen." Keridyn said as she took it from Eragon. "The belt is even still here." She noticed as she strapped it around her waist.

With the sword around her, Keridyn seemed to become more of herself, with a possible regret lifted.

"I wish Vrael could have seen you like this." Arya said suddenly. "He would have been proud of you."

Keridyn snapped back as though she had been daydreaming. "Yes, he would have. But he couldn't, so let us not dwell on it."

Eragon looked at the two.

"They're cousins Eragon." Nasauda whispered into his ear.

He looked at her suddenly. "Cousins?"

Keridyn laughed. "Come now Eragon, is it that surprising? All elves are related somehow. My mother was Queen Islanzadi's sister. Arya is my cousin."

"Come now, Keridyn Drottingu, you are more than my cousin." Arya told her. "Now that I know you are alive, you are the heir to the elven throne."

"What?" Keridyn asked shocked. "You renounced your title?"

"Not entirely, I am the ambassador of the elves here in the Varden, it would not do if I had to rule as well." Arya told her. "Besides, I would still call you that even if I had not."

"Arya." Keridyn cautioned.

"Do not fret, I shall tell no secret of yours." Arya told her. "Now, how to tell the people that there was an old Rider found in Lorana's dungeon?"

"Slowly," Nasauda told them. "They had enough of a shock when they heard there was another dragon and Rider for a short time before. We shall have to tell them slowly, so they do not get the wrong ideas."

"Another dragon and Rider?" Keridyn asked.

"Oromis and Glaedr were alive, hiding in Ellesmera." Arya told her. "But they met Murtagh in battle."

"A battle that was short lived obviously." Keridyn told her. "Idiots." She said as she walked outside.

"Keridyn-" Nasauda called.

"Don't." Arya said as they tried to go after her. "She needs some time, Oromis was her teacher, too. All she needs is time and to be alone."

"It sounds like you two were close." Nasauda remarked, voicing Eragon's thoughts.

"We were, a long time ago." Arya told them.

* * *

"Dammit!" Keridyn yelled when she got to the shore of the sea. There, she paces. "You've taken everything from me now! Are you happy, are you happy now!?" She yells at the waves.

"Yelling will do you no good." Elva says from behind her.

Keridyn turns around. "You understand and yet I haven't told you. You understand that he's taken everything, everything from me! My mother, my dragon, my life, everything!" Keridyn sat in the sand. "Everything that ever mattered to me." She cries.

Elva walks over to her and puts her hand on her shoulder. "He hasn't taken your duty, your courage, or your life." She tells her. "He's cruel, but he hasn't taken what matters most. You have your life, you can do something with it, or you can mope like this and not do anything. But it would be against everything you believe."

Keridyn sighed and began laughing. "Everything I believe…" She mused. "What do I believe?"

* * *

"Welcome back you two." Nasauda said as Keridyn and Elva entered the pavilion again. "Keridyn I'm-"

"It's alright." Keridyn interrupted. "I thought they were dead a long time ago. That they were alive must mean that Eragon was taught by them. They were good teachers, I shall miss them."

"Alright, then the matter of making you known." Nasauda began.

"Before you do that, I would like to tell you a story." Keridyn told them as she sat in a chair. "The ending is the present, but it is the beginning and the middle that will shock and undoubtedly surprise you all, and, except for Elva and Arya, explain why I alone am still alive."

_Eragon, I'm finished with the soldiers, would you mind introducing me._

_ I'll ask her. _"Keridyn, there is someone who wants to meet you." Eragon told her.

She smiled, "Your dragon, undoubtedly."

Saphira slowly snaked her head inside the pavilion. Her azure eyes looking at Keridyn carefully.

Keridyn smiled at Saphira with a sad face. "Atra nosu waíse friai."

_Gladly._ Saphira thought so all could hear. _I heard you were going to tell a story, I would like to hear it as well._

"Well, as the dragon wishes." Keridyn said with a smile. "Though I warn you, you may hate me when it is over."

They all looked at her a bit strangely.

"When I was seven, Faloreon hatched for me, and in the presence of Vrael, I became the youngest Rider in all of history…"

* * * * * * * * * *

**Yes it does end there ~ melonkitty.**

**Evarinya- stars**

**Atra nosu waíse friai- Let us be friends**


	4. The Hourly Pain

**Chapter four here. Remember, this is in Keridyn's past. Here, you may want to pay attention to certain details, they'll come up later, but you will find out why she is alive in the next chapter. Trust me, it'll be a shocker.~ melonkitty**

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Four: The Hourly Pain**

"Keridyn." Her mother called. "Come on, wake up." She sighed. "Your father would be so disappointed in you."

"Father wouldn't care." Keridyn told her as she got up.

Keridyn was older, maybe thirteen, and was a full fledged rider, having been given her sword a few months ago. She and her mother now lived in Illrea, capital of the Broddring kingdom.

Her dark grey eyes looked at her mother sleepily.

"You have the strangest eyes. Eyes like your father." Her mother told her with a smile.

Keridyn got up and dressed in dark green clothes, strapping on her silver sword that matched Faloreon with every hue.

"Honestly, Keridyn, you look so…"

"'So…' what?"

"Perfect. I may have said once that I didn't want this life for you but now, I think you were born for it." Her mother told her. "But that doesn't mean that I approve of you doing this."

Keridyn smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you."

* * *

_Faloreon, a little higher, I think we can catch them!_ Keridyn told her dragon as they flew following another dragon and Rider.

_I have the feeling that this may not end well._ He told her with a mental smile. _For them, that is._

_ Then let's get them._

They flew on through the azure sky, happy and enjoying the nice and kind weather.

They dived and rose, bobbing like a floating leaf on a stormy sea, all through the sky.

The dragon in front of them was growing tired, they saw that, and they went on after them.

The dragon in front of them pulled into a dive, Keridyn and Faloreon following with greater speed. The wind tugged at her clothes but she ignored it as she pulled the string on her bow taught and knocked a blunt, chalked, tipped arrow, aimed, and fired it at the other Rider.

Faloreon pulled out of his dive and flew to the battlements of Illrea.

A moment later, the other Rider on a blue dragon approached. Keridyn grinned when she saw the massive white chalk spot on his back.

"You got me good Keridyn. I'm tired why don't we go get a bit to eat 'eh?" Brom told her.

"Indeed, that was quite a show you two." Came a voice from behind her.

Brom went as white as the chalk on his back.

Keridyn turned to see Vrael standing on another part of the battlements.

"I'm glad you think so, Rider Vrael." She said.

"I've never seen a better shot from dragon-back, excluding my own of course." He said. "It's been a while Keridyn."

"It has, but we have duties, a year or two is nothing." She told him with a smile.

"I wanted to talk to you. I'm thinking of sending you to your cousin in DuWeldenvarden." He told her.

"Pardon me, but I'll excuse myself now." Brom said walking away.

"Brom is a good sport to put up with your games." Vrael told her.

"He's a good friend." She replied. "So, you're sending me Ellesmera, in DuWeldenvarden, to Evandar?"

"Not to Evandar, to his daughter, your cousin, Arya." Vrael corrected her.

Keridyn eyed him suspiciously. "Why?"

"You're a good Rider, Keridyn, I can't keep you here. I have to send you where I must." He told her.

She sighed and looked out at the sky. "You know how the elves distrust me."

"I do. But you won't let that get in the way of your duty. That's why I'm sending you. Also you have more sway there, I believe you'll be fine." He told her.

"I don't think it will matter." She told him. "The last time I went to Ellesmera I nearly died, that is why."

"You sound as though you are afraid."

Keridyn looked at him. "I am. I fear their judgment because what they are is a part of me, almost as though if they hate me I begin to hate myself."

"Then don't hate yourself." Came another voice.

Keridyn looked at the elf that came to stand next to Vrael with wide eyes. "Arya?" She asked.

"Keridyn." Arya said with a smile. "Has he asked you yet?"

"Asked me what?" Keridyn asked looking at Vrael.

Vrael sighed. "I don't have to ask her because I already know, Arya Drottingu. I need not ask what I already know."

Arya looked as though he had slapped her. Then she turned her attention back on Keridyn. "I saw the shot you made. Quite impressive for one so young."

Keridyn smiled. "It's all about training." She said. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take care of Faloreon and change."

Both Vrael and Arya shook their heads.

"Go on Keridyn, we can finish this later." Vrael told her.

Keridyn smiled and, after bowing, walked to her dragon and took of in a glimmer of scales.

"Vrael, I know you like treasure her like your own daughter, but she has a father, and his situation is not the most desireable." Arya told him.

"I know Arya." He said as he watched Keridyn fly away. "But spare her your feelings, you heard her."

"Yes." Arya said in reply. "That isn't something that can be helped, with her being who she is."

* * *

Arya walked through the halls of Illrea later that day, when she ran into Keridyn.

"Excuse me." Keridyn said bowing.

Arya laughed slightly. "Stand up, cousin, humility is not like you." She told her smiling.

Keridyn smiled as she straightened. "It's been a while, cousin."

"Five years if I remember correctly." Arya told her. "How have you been? Forgive me for not coming to your ceremony, I was needed and was unable to attend."

"There is no need for forgiveness, I'll not hold it against you. And I've been great. What about you and your mother?"

"Not on the best of terms, she disapproves of mostly everything, but she is my mother and I respect her. I came here to see whether or not you're going to take the task in Ellesmera." Arya replied.

"I go where I am needed, you know that Arya. If I'm ordered I will go to DuWeldenvarden, though I doubt it'll be for long, the elves are a peaceful race." Keridyn told her.

"Keridyn, do you want to go to Ellesmera or not, you're avoiding the question." Arya told her.

Keridyn sighed, and replied in the ancient language. "I cannot bear the judgment. If I could avoid it, I would not go. My fear prevents me from knowing who I am."

Arya was slightly surprised. "Cousin, do you remember the fight we had when you were only four years old?"

"Yes." Keridyn said with a smile.

"Do you know why I fought you?"

"No." She replied.

"I sought you out and fought you because I discovered that you were half human." Arya said with downcast eyes. "But when I fought you, you fought better than most elves, and at a younger age. I judged you because I did not know you. If you hide from them they will think you a coward. If you continue to run in fear not only will you not learn of your heritage, others will not get to know you for the person you are."

Keridyn was rendered speechless.

Arya smiled.

* * *

Keridyn was eating with her mother when she noticed that her mother wasn't eating.

"What is it, mother?" She asked.

Her mother set down her utensil and looked at Keridyn seioursly.

"It's about your father." She replied to her daughter.

"What about him?" Keridyn asked.

"His dragon was murdered the other day…"

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffhanger. But let's see how much you got from that as well as in chapter five, when most things are revealed, and I won't leave it open. Cause that would be torture. :)~ melonkitty**


	5. The Father of None

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Five: The Father of None**

"I was given my sword when I was thirteen, after I graduated under Oromis' tutoring. It was also near that time that my father's dragon was the unfortunate victim of murder. Soon after, he left the Riders completely and I never really saw him again. When I was fourteen it was then that Galbatorix besieged the Rider council for another dragon. When they denied him, he fled, to who knows where. I eventually was assigned a post in DuWeldenvarden, under the guidance of Arya. I stayed there for two years before Galbatorix made good on his, before idle, threats. A year later King Evandar rode out with an army of elves to aid the Riders, including the four Riders that had been in DuWeldenvarden at the time. Unfortunately, victory was not in our future." Keridyn told them all. "I knew Galbatorix when I was younger. It truly saddens me to see what he has become, as well as what he has done. During my life there were things I did that I truly didn't want to, but they were necessary. During the siege of Illrea I killed the soldiers that had pledged themselves to Galbatorix's cause. Young men who had families and homes that needed them. There were also the Riders that betrayed us to join him, most died though."

Nasauda looked at the old Rider with a perplexing expression. "And what would we find so surprising?"

"The Battle of Illrea was a massive and bloody skirmish between Riders and their fellows. Not one of the Forsworn tried to fight me." Keridyn replied. "If I attacked them they would merely defend themselves and walk away. " She shook her head. "It didn't make sense until I found myself face to face with Galbatorix and my mother fighting. Just by watching them you could tell that she direly wanted to kill him, but she couldn't, no matter what she tried. He was holding back, you could tell that he desperately didn't want to hurt her." Keridyn stopped and they all noticed tears running down her face.

"Stop Keridyn, you need to sleep, you can finish in the morning." Arya told her.

Keridyn shook her head.

"Yes." Arya insisted. "Slytha." Arya cast a spell.

"Not… fair." Keridyn said as she fell asleep in her chair.

"Sorry for that." Arya said. "But, I think you should wait before hearing the rest of her story."

"That's understandable. And necessary. Plus, we don't know how to make sure she keeps her sanity. I imagine that this story is not a particularly happy one." Nasauda said looking at Arya.

"No, though I never heard it from her, Oromis told me of how she had supposedly died in the Battle of Illrea with my father. And she may break down from time to time. Her memory is sensitive, it remembers all of the simplest details. If she were to go mad, I would understand why." Arya told them. "You have to understand that she's volatile, she was like this a long time ago as well, I honestly don't understand why."

Nasauda narrowed her eyes. " 'Why' what?"

"Why she insists on telling this to you now." Arya told them. "And even though I know what she's about to tell you I cannot answer if you ask. I swore in the ancient language that I would never tell anyone who she is."

Eragon watched this with a mind full of confusion.

_Eragon. Does it seem almost as though Galbatorix might have cared for Keridyn enough, not to kill her? He obviously ordered the Forsworn to let her be, but when they fought against each other he did not take her life._

_ I don't know. It certainly does seem that way. We'll have to find out in the morning._ Eragon told her as his gaze drifted to the sleeping girl. _One thing is for sure, whatever the reason, she absolutely hates him for it._

* * *

It was two days before Keridyn woke. When she did she looked better, refreshed, as though someone had given her a new source of life.

Arya found her standing staring out at the movements of the Varden with Nasauda's guards around her outside the pavilion.

"Keridyn, how do you feel?" Arya asked as she approached.

Keridyn looked at her with eyes that seemed distant, like they were seeing things as they were in the past. "I'm fine, thank you for asking Arya." She told the elf as her eyes lost that look.

"Do you honestly want to continue with your story at such a quick pace? You have the time." Arya asked.

Keridyn looked at her with sad eyes. "If I don't, how will that make those I know feel? It would be like keeping a deadly secret from them, they would only distrust me more for it."

"Perhaps." Arya told her. "But, you should give them some chance of getting to know you first. If they do not, then they will judge you harder and unjustly."

Keridyn looked out over the landscape once before she asked, "Would you mind sparring with me? For old times sake. I haven't lifted my sword in ages, you just might stand a chance." She said smiling.

Arya grinned devilishly. " 'I _might_ stand a chance?' Who do you think you're talking to? I'm an elven princess, and over a century older than you, I think you're the one who doesn't stand a chance."

* * *

They cleared a large area to the side of Nasauda's pavilion, the perfect size for a sparring area.

"Are you crazy?" Eragon asked. "She just got out of a dungeon, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Eragon, there was a time when I couldn't lay a finger on Keridyn. She was a master swordswoman, taught by Vrael himself." Arya told him. "She wants this, she;s the one who asked me if we could."

_So, she was better than Arya at one point in time._ Eragon thought. _I haven't sparred against her since when I first came to the Varden, and then I could never beat her._

_ You sound envious._

_I-I am not. She is a rider and has elven blood, it is natural for her to be better than I._

_You're jealous._ Saphira told him with a grumbling laugh. _I think I like her._

Eragon returned to watching Arya and Keridyn as they prepeared.

Keridyn was standing, just standing, to the side of their clearing with her eyes closed. She opened them and looked Eragon in the eyes.

_It isn't polite to stare, young Rider._

Eragon's eyes went wide. _How-_

_I was known as the best mental invader in my own time. A mind like mine was an immense advantage to have, or so Vrael and my mother told me. _Keridyn told him. She then looked toward the sinking sun. _With mixed races you can either have a child that is smarter than the most intelligent, or one who is shunned for their disability. For me it didn't matter, I was alienated in either society, the Riders was where I belonged. You uphold an immense legacy, son of Brom, until you understand exactly what it is that the Riders stood for you will be crushed by that burden, until you find out what you yourself believe the Riders to be._

Keridyn then cut their connection. She turned to Arya, who stood in the clearing in a fighting stance. Then, with an nearly undetectable movement, she ran at Arya and drew her sword.

Arya was somewhat ready, but the force of Keridyn's blow forced her back a step.

"You're rusty, cousin." Arya told her, sliding her sword to Keridyn's hilt.

"You were never a fair match for me." Keridyn replied, breaking away.

"True, but you had Vrael to teach you." Arya remarked as she advanced.

"No, I have myself. Vrael only told me to watch the sea." Keridyn said as she flowingly deflected Arya's blow.

Nasauda, Eragon, and Saphira watched in awe as the two fought. Eragon noticed that Keridyn fought with a flowing style, striking and parrying with a to and fro motion.

Arya had a glint in her eye, as though she had something planned.

"Vrael was your idol and mentor, he was more of a father to you than your own." Arya commented.

Something else also gliinted in Keridyns eye and her movements grew more sluggish and forced. "You're right, Vrael mentored me, and I grew to idolize him, but that was only because no one else would." Keridyn hissed as they broke apart. "My mixed blood bred the hatred of people I didn't even know. My mother and father could never understand, they could never make it go away, it was there without good cause, and without understanding."

"This has gone far enough." Nasauda whispered as she walked forward one step.

_Lady Nasauda, Arya would not provoke without good reason. Let us watch, there is undoubtedly some reason, these two have a lot to talk about, and they have chosen their form of word with the sword. There is also something that we know Keridyn wants to tell us. Do not interfere, I wish to know what will become of this._ Saphira called out to the leader of the Varden.

Nasauda froze where she stood and continued to watch them.

"But what of your father, ignoring his child until you were of an age to understand his foolishness as what it was. He never was the same after your mother changed him." Arya said as she cut low in succession.

Keridyn blocked them all.

"Father or not, I am still a bastard child. For all the good he did me." Keridyn said as she herself attacked in a similar fashion. "Not a day goes by where I do not wish him dead for all he's done."

Arya cut down and caught Keridyn's arm, slicing a four inch gash.

As the fight went on, the two fought and talked, Arya wounding Keridyn slightly here and there until her clothes were a dark maroon, a color that fit her much better.

"Your father still lives, still causes suffering, how does it make you fell, knowing that you are his child, bound to follow him in some way?" Arya said as she knicked Keridyn's chin.

Keridyn knelt, gasping for breath with tears in her eyes.

Memories swathed through the minds of Nasauda, Eragon, Saphira and Arya, the darkest, most secret, moments of Keridyn's past.

She was a young child, being thrown in the air laughing by a smiling man on dragon back.

She was seven again, with Faloreon at her heels following the same man with a sad look on her face as he said, "I never wanted you to do this to yourself."

She was thirteen, confronting the man in a hall asking, "Why are you leaving, the Riders are your home, where you know you belong." To which he only replied, "Not anymore they're not."

She was eighteen, in battle with Riders and soldiers alike around her and her mother, and one man fought the both of them, the same man from before. To the man her mother said, "Why!? Why would you do this to us, I _loved_ you!" Her mother rushed forward but was caught unawares and was grabbed by her hair. The man sneered and whispering in her ear, cut her head off with the silver sword in his hand. "No!" Keridyn screamed. "How could you!? Why are you doing this!?" The man sneered again, and paralyzing her stalked toward her. "Because I can." He answered. "You and your mother would never understand." He said as he put the sword in her eye. As Keridyn screamed he chuckled. "Which is why I am going to show you how to understand." He said as he stalked toward Faloreon. Faloreon struggled in the clutches of a night black dragon, contrasting his shining silver scales. The man waltzed forward and struck with the strength of ten men and the silver head of her dragon flew as he once had. "NO!!"

"NO!!" Keridyn screamed through what her mind had shown them. "No." She said as she whispered holding her head on the ground. "No. No. No. No! No! No! NO! NO! He killed them, he killed them all. My father killed them all."

Realization dawned on those around, but Arya, as they moved Keridyn, mumbling, to within the pavilion once more.

"Her father, is he King Galbatorix, Arya?" Nasauda asked with a stern face.

"Yes." Arya admitted. "But you have to understand, she hates her father for all that he has done, she yearns that these events be undone." Arya flinched visibly, then turned to Keridyn. "What?"

Keridyn looked at her for a moment before she passed out.

"Keridyn, tell me, tell me!" Arya said as she shook her.

"Arya, what is it?" Nasauda asked.

"She thinks that he may come after her." Arya's eyes went wide. "But she has his name, and she can only use it once, she has her father's name Eragon, She's our only hope, and she's dying."

* * * * * * * * * *

**Sorry, but I wanted a cliffhanger. Um, go ahead and ask questions if you have them. And I need names, girl names, any name suggestion is welcome, don't ask why. ~ melonkitty.**


	6. The Worst of All Fates

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Six: The Worst of All Fates**

Cold steel. Chafing chains and dead cold.

For years, that's all she's known.

For years it's all she's suffered, at the hands of one man.

A man she desperately wishes dead, for he has caused great suffering to those who once trusted him.

A door opens, casting a pillar of blindinly bright light upon her where she sits chained to a wall in a drugged stupor.

"I will never, so why do you continue uselessly?" She says with her chin up. "I have the honor of a Rider."

The man smiles devilishly as he draws a silver sword, stepping closer.

"The honor of a Rider means nothing in my world, dear daughter." He replies.

The door closes on a ear piercing scream of agony.


	7. The Father of the Dying Babe

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Seven: The Father of the Dying Babe**

"What do you mean she's dying?" Lady Nasauda asked, it had been two days since the original statement had been made.

"I don't know." Arya told her as she sat beside a sleeping Keridyn. "I shouldn't have pushed her, who knows what's going on in her head?"

"Arya, you can't blame yourself, the reaction she had was instinctual." Nasauda flinched. "I still can't believe that she's his daughter. I want to trust her, but if someone learns of this there will be great distrust within the forces of the Varden."

Eragon stood by the tent flap staring at Keridyn. _She's the King's daughter._ He thought dubiously. _She is the heir to the throne if Galbatorix dies._

_ Eragon, I find it oddly similar to how you thought you were the son of Morzan._ Saphira told him. _But, where as your fears were unfounded in the end, here she is, the very thing you once feared yourself to be, but, with her, she was hated for everything she stood for and believed in by her own father. _

_ I don't need to be lectured Saphira. I understand to a certain degree._

_ I know you understand, but think of another thing, if you were afraid of being judged as Morzan's son, how do you think she feels knowing that she will be judged as Galbatorix's daughter?_

_ Would you just leave me alone to brood?_

_ Fine, if that's how you're going to be._

Eragon sighed, he shouldn't have said that, but he really wanted to be alone. He looked back at Keridyn. Saphira was right, he knew faintly how she felt, but there were other circumstances, ones that would tell how much she truly despised being her father's daughter.

Keridyn stirred slightly under his gaze…and another memory burst through the minds of those there.

Keridyn was perhaps only ten years old, walking down a decorated hall in evergreen drapes. Vrael walked beside her. "I believe you to be a valued Rider, Keridyn, Would you not consider advancing your training?" He asked. Keridyn looked at him for a moment. "No." She answered. He was surprised. "Would you answer why?" He asked. Keridyn was silent for a moment more before she spoke. "Because I wish to learn things how I will, to further my training would disappoint my teacher and friends to no end, and would further alienate me." Vrael nodded. "I understand. Your blood has proven to be a problem, yes?" Keridyn's head hung as she replied. "Yes, the elves distrust of me and the humans wariness has proven to be a small problem, but nothing that is overly problematic." Vrael nodded, "Your mother was worried about you earlier in your training, but I have found her worries to be unfounded." He told her with a smile on his face. "You display a rather large aptitude in swordsmanship, Keridyn, why is that?" Keridyn smiled at him, "I'm good at it, the forms and dances fascinate me, I'm afraid I've gone and spent Master Oromis's knowledge." Vrael smiled at this. "Perhaps I should show you what I know." Keridyn's young face lit up with happiness.

As quickly as it came the memory was gone and Keridyn was sitting up where she slept and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Damn it." She said. "I wanted so hard to forget something like that." She told them.

Everyone stared at her.

"Forgive me for not telling you all earlier. But, I wanted to keep something like that from the people who need to trust me. I see that all I did was ruin everything I built with you. Again, forgive me." Keridyn said as she hung her head.

"Keridyn, the memories we saw after your fight with Arya, those were yours?" Nasauda asked.

"Yes, but please don't remind me, my mind has endured enough knowing what all he has done. I don't need any more torture from things like this." Keridyn told everyone.

"So he is your father?" Nasauda asked.

"Yes." Keridyn told her. "I didn't even know until Faloreon hatched for me, that's when my mother told me about my father." She turned away from them. "Both of my parents were dedicated to the Riders and what they stood for. In my father's betrayal of the Riders I was doubly betrayed, my father hated me and my mother for believing in the Riders, and eventually he killed her and tortured me for a century."

"Keridyn, there is another thing you aren't telling us, so please be honest with us." Arya told her.

Keridyn smiled slightly.

"Why are you dying?" Arya asked.

Keridyn glanced at her flat stomach.

Nasauda realized what Keridyn was talking about. "You're pregnant?"

Keridyn nodded slowly.

"Eragon, out." Nasauda ordered. The Rider reluctantly left.

"Are you sure, Keridyn?" Arya asked.

"As sure as the sky is blue." Keridyn told them.

Who is the father?" Arya asked.

Keridyn looked away.

"Keridyn, tell us, or we will think the worst of you." Nasauda told her.

"I will not name him, nor will I allow you to tell anyone else, but my child is Eragon's niece/nephew."

"You're carrying the child of Mutagh?" Arya asked aghast. "How did that happen?"

"How do you think?" Keridyn spat at them. "There are many ways to torture a woman, cousin, the imagination of my father is a most hated thing of mine."

Nasauda looked at Keridyn carefully. "The child is killing you?"

Keridyn shook her head.

"Then what is? Keridyn, what is killing you?" Arya asked.

"I am." Keridyn said as she whirled her feet off of her cot. "I'm killing myself."

"Why?" Arya demanded. "You know the value of life, why would you take your own?"

"Because, if I do not end my own life, nothing else can, not time, not war, not torture, not anything." Keridyn explained. "I'm immortal to a degree that is frightening, Arya."

"What do you mean?" Nasauda asked.

Keridyn looked around for a moment. Then pushed up her sleeve where Arya had wounded her and unwound the bandage.

"Don't it'll start bleeding again." Arya told her.

When it was completely unwound there wasn't any blood, just a sharp white scar where her gash had been earlier.

"What?" Arya said as she took Keridyn's arm.

"I told you. Nothing can hurt me. With both my parents being Riders and my mother being an elf, I am more immortal than mortal." Keridyn looked away. "My life is tied to the race of the dragons." She told them. "Vrael told me how he watched me when I was a child, to see how my life would play out. The truth is, Arya, that I was supposed to die when I was young. But, to save me, the Ride Council tied my life to the dragons, so long as there is a dragon, I will live. Your mother should know this."

Nasauda and Arya heard her words with disbelief.

"How is that possible?" Nasauda asked.

"I don't know." She replied. "Nobody ever told me of this until it was too late." Keridyn stood. "Vrael taught me that you are independent of the forces around you. But now I see that he just watched me to see what I would become."

Arya looked at her cousin. "Like what my father did." She realized.

Keridyn nodded. "If I had escaped like Oromis and lived in DuWeldenvarden, I wouldn't have been able to stand it. Your mother and father knew how I lived, as well as you and your father knew who my father was. I have no more secrets from you, now. I can't tell you anymore."

Arya and Nasauda watched Keridyn carefully.

"So, you bear both the granddaughter or grandson of Galbatorix and Morzan?" Nasauda asked. "And you wish to keep it a secret, even from Eragon?"

Keridyn looked up. "I do wish to keep it from others, but I will have to tell him in time, lest he get the wrong idea."

Nasauda watched her as she stood. Keridyn was a sight to see, without hair and a covered eye, scars in all, she held herself with an air that not even Eragon had. "I guess now the only large problem we have is either telling everyone that you're the daughter of the King or keeping it from everyone."

"Actually, there is one other problem." Came a voice from near them. "Though slightly smaller."

They all whirled around to see Angela standing there.

"You haven't yet told them of how you know me or Tenga." Angela told them.

"By the gods! You're alive!" Keridyn exclaimed.

"I told you many times when you were young, never underestimate me, you'll soon regret it." Angela said with a smile.

"Angela, how did you get in here?" Nasauda asked.

Angela ignored her and walked over to Keridyn. She put one hand on Keridyn's face, on the cheek that bore the bright white scar.

"Could you ever forgive me for that?" She asked, her eyes swam with a milky shine, as though they remembered something from long ago.

"It wasn't your fault, it was an accident." Keridyn told her.

"True, but I still did it, whether or not it was intentional." She replied.

Nasauda and Arya watched this with strange expressions.

"Tell them, or I will." Angela threatened.

"But-"

"No 'buts' Aiedail." Angela told her. "Tell them, with unbridled honesty."

Keridyn sighed. "Alright, Silbena, alright."

*** * * * * * * * * ***

**Oooh. What a shocker!**

**Aiedail- The Morning Star**

**Silbena- Sighing**


	8. The Farthest Reaches of the Heart

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Eight: The Farthest Reaches of the Heart**

Her breath came in ragged gasps as she ran across the sand like dirt. She was five, nearly six, with her once fine clothes torn in places, such as her kness.

"Come, young elf, I will not hurt you." Came a devilish voice from behind her.

She looked back once and tripped forward, getting sand in her grey eyes.

When she stood pale red eyes stared at her with a murderous fury. A Shade was upon her.

With an evil chuckle and inhuman strength, he grabbed her by her throat and lifted her from her feet.

Then, suddenly, he had no head. And just as quick a sword tip was visible from his front, stabbed in the heart.

"Are you alright child?" A woman's voice asked. She had curly brown hair and eyes of an indiscernible color.

"Thank you." Keridyn told her as the woman helped her up. "You saved my life."

"What are you doing way out here?" The woman asked. "This isn't a place for children to wander around alone."

"I do as I please." Keridyn answered with a frown. "I need not be worried about."

The woman looked at Keridyn with a slight smile. "Well now, no need to worry about me caging you up, would you like me to stitch those up, so you can be on your way?"

Keridyn looked at what the woman was talking about: on her shoulders were ten gashes from where the Shade had tried to grab her with its fingernails. They were deep, her shirt was soaked with blood, and sand stung in the wounds.

"Come, you may eat, I will clean your wounds, and you may then be on your way." The woman told her as she walked a little way off.

Keridyn watched as she walked away. Then followed after a moment.

* * *

"How on earth did you get a Shade, of all things, after you, child?" The woman asked as she stitched Keridyn's shoulders together again as they sat on the onlt two chairs in an old house, very close to an elven rider post, Keridyn noted.

"He attacked me when I ran from my traveling companions." Keridyn told her. Then she realized her mistake and said not another word.

The woman paused in her stitching. "You ran away?" She asked as she continued.

Keridyn remained silent.

The woman finished her stitching and put the sewing things away. "Well you're free to go now, if you wouldn't like to stay for a hot meal, that is."

Keridyn stood and hissed as she flexed her shoulders.

"What's your name, by the way, young elf?" The woman asked.

"I'm not an elf." Keridyn said defensively.

"Then what are you, for if I am right you are, and you aren't a Rider, that much is known by your bare hands." The woman said.

"Half elf." Keridyn told her after a tense moment.

"Ah." The woman said. "Well, what's your name child, I need something to call you by."

Before Keridyn or the woman could say anything a man walked in the door. "Well, well, Silbena, brought home a little Aiedail, have we?" He said when he noticed Keridyn as she huddled near a wall. "Well, would you help me Aiedail, I'm an aging man, lots to do and ponder about, would you mind thinking on things for me?"

Keridyn watched as the woman smiled.

"Think about what?" Was all Keridyn asked with a smile.


	9. The Dusty Hidden, Hated, Shelves

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Nine: The Dusty Hidden, Hated, Shelves**

"It was the year after I realized that elves had a faint feeling of hatred for me that I met her. I spent the summer down in that house. Tenga taught me how to think of things in ways that no one ever thought to before. His drive to find out the slightest bit of information astounded me. There would be one moment where he was coherent and another where he was mad. But both Silbena and I understood that it happened and put up with it for a time before we would leave the house and look at the stars. My mother was alright as long as she knew I was alive and with people that enjoyed my company. What happiness started with a Shade though, ended tragically, with Tenga throwing dishes at me." Keridyn told them.

"What did you tell him exactly, Aiedail?" Angela asked.

Keridyn chuckled slightly. "I told him the answer." She told them. "Tenga always had a question, he called it _the question_ always saying that if he found the answer, it would free people, and himself from something."

Angela's eyes went wide as she laughed.

Eragon walked in on them laughing and smiled. "Well, now, what's this?"

Keridyn looked for a moment then glared at him seriously. "Do you really want to know?"

Arya watched this slightly worried. "You're going to share your memories?"

"Don't worry, cousin, I won't break him." Keridyn told her. "Eragon, if you want I can show you, but my mind and memory aren't very compatible with yours."

Eragon's eyebrows rose. _Just touching her thoughts earlier gave me a headache._ "No, thank you." He told her. "Memories are never the same the second time. One must live in the here and now or they destroy the chances for change, for better or good."

Keridyn looked at him with knowing eyes.

"Keridyn Aiedail, daughter of Maliarin, just who are you?" Elva asked as she stood at the tent entrance grasping the canvas with all her strength.

Keridyn looked at Elva with eyes of sadness. "I am many things, if you would like to know." She told her cryptically.

Eragon looked at Elva worriedly, she seemed to be suffering, almost as though she still did not have a choice on using her powers once again.

"No matter how far I go from you I can still feel it, I can feel your emotions like a tidal wave battering my mind, what is it that allows you to do this to me? How can I not get away from you?" Elva asked.

Keridyn looked at everyone sadly. The turned back to Elva. "The mark on your brow was made by Saphira, yes?" Elva nodded her head. "Then that is why."

Eragon looked at Keridyn strangely.

Keridyn sighed as she went to a bowl of water on the table and washed her hand. Then brought it out.

Her gedwey was on her hand, but the mark wound up around her arm, seven times to her upper arm.

"From the beginning I was never a normal rider." Keridyn said reluctantly. "The dragons favored me over their own riders, because I am more their sibling than their companion."

"What do you mean?" Eragon asked.

"I have explained to Arya and Nasauda, that my life is tied to the race of dragons. "I do not know how, nor do I know why, but when I was still an infant, the Rider Council decided to save me in a strange fashion." Keridyn told them.

"But how is that possible?" Eragon asked.

_Perhaps, I may shed some light on your confusion._ Called a voice they all heard.

Keridyn's eyes went wide. "You have Glaedr's Eludnari!"

_Yes he does, Keridyn._ Came Glaedr's voice. _But that isn't important. Would you like to know why we decided to save your life?_

"Yes, please." Keridyn nearly begged.

They all sensed Glaedr smile. _It was because your mother begged the Council. Your father, your mother, and your _brother_ wished for you to live._

" 'Brother'?" Keridyn asked surprised. "I don't have a brother. What do you mean, Glaedr?"

_I meant what I said. You had a brother, an elven brother, it was he who gave his life so that our spell would take hold. He loved you so much that he gave his life to save yours in a way that we weren't sure would work at the time. _Gleadr told them. _We re-created the original binding in a fashion, but altered it so that you would become part of the dragons immortality as a race. Beriadan loved you, that was how it worked, I do not think it could be re-created again._

Keridyn sat down numbly with distant eyes. "Beriadan, that was his name?"

Arya watched this with a confused face. "Beriadan was the name of an elven scholar. He vanished over a hundred years ago, after his house burned in Ellesmera. He would have been the only one to know the binding spell that the dragons and elves originally cast." She said.

"That still doesn't explain why I feel your emotions in the first place, when I don't even want to." Elva told them.

Eragon looked at Elva and Keridyn both.

Keridyn looked at the ground. "I have no other explanation other than the one I've already given you."

"Keridyn, perhaps you should release it." Arya said suddenly.

"What?" Keridyn asked, eyes wide. "I don't think I could."

"I know you can, you've done it once." Arya said, crossing her arms.

Keridyn looked at her cousin with a far-away look in her eyes. "That was an accident and you know it. I can't do that again. Who knows what would happen?"

"What are you two talking about?" Nasauda asked.

"Keridyn's inner self." Arya said. "Very few have ever actually been able to do it. But it's basically the release of every feeling, every thought, so that you are actually one with yourself as well as everything else. It's difficult to explain really. Keridyn and Vrael were the only ones able to do it before the Fall."

"I did it on accident." Keridyn interrupted. "Vrael never intended for me to discover it on my own when I was still so young."

"But the fact that you did it on instinct was amazing." Arya told her. "I think it's the only thing that will help."

"No, I can't." Keridyn said shaking her head.

Suddenly memories burst through the minds of those there.

A man who was a father raised a sword that dripped blood.

A man who was a teacher smiled as his head flew through the sky he once loved.

Tears streamed down the dirty face of a woman once called mother as fires burned behind her.

The shining of silver and a fist sized tear, then a flowing stream of blood mixed with that tear.

"NO!" Keridyn screamed as she ran out of the pavilion, tears streaming wildly down her face.


	10. The Daunting Past

**Okay, we're breaking off here, still in the past, about ten years before Eragon found the egg. The main focus here is Brom, because I wanted to find some way to feature him, and he is living in Carvahall. I believe that the rest of the chapters in the past will feature people other than Keridyn from time to time, because a lot has happened and I will include events that I believe happened and are somewhat relevant to the featured present. ~melonkitty**

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Ten: The Daunting Past**

He watched the boy follow his cousin around and yearned to tell him the truth. But it must remain a secret, both for his safety and that of his son.

The boy noticed him watching and came over to him.

"Hello, would you like to hear a story, boy?" Brom asked.

The young boys eyes lit up with an excited gleam. "A story about what?"

"Dragons, my boy, beasts that flew in the sky and rained fire upon the earth. And of the Riders that rode them in the heavens, keeping order and peace." Brom answered without a second thought.

The boy's eyes went wide. "People rode on dragons?"

"Well, dwarves certainly didn't, so who else would?" Brom asked with a wink and a smile. "Dragon Riders, a fearsome lot that would lock a man up fer' murderin' another." Brom said. "So, would you like such a story, boy?"

"Very-"

"Eragon." Called a man. Spotting him, he came over. "Eragon, don't bother the man, we have things to do, now come along."

"But Uncle-"

"No, buts, boy, now come."

"My name is Brom." Brom introduced himself. "I was just about to tell the boy a story. He was truly being no trouble."

The man pasued. "Well, my name's Garrow, and this is my nephew, Eragon." He scratched hi head. "I guess if he was being no trouble to you, he could hear your story."

"Not at all. My profession is storytelling; it'd be no trouble to me." Brom answered with a smile.

"Alright." Garrow said. "You can listen to 'im, Eragon, but be ready to go when we come to get you, a'right?"

Eragon smiled a wide impish grin as he sat down to listen as Garrow walked away.

"Well, boy, the Riders rode the mighty dragons, keeping peace and saving the week from the strong, they were a peaceful people themselves, trusted by the people, yet feared at the same time…" Brom began, digging up memories he would have rather not. But for his son, he would do it, just as he would do anything.

*** * * * * **

**Okay, kinda short, I know. But I had to involve Brom a little bit more than I had to serve my own agenda.**

**To address some worries: I know Eragon isn't very involved in the beginning, so just to explain; 1) He's not there partially because I wanted to develop Keridyn's character a little more beyond the basics. 2) He's pondering what Keridyn showing up means and how he's going to deal with her being the King's daughter, as well as various other things. So do not worry, Eragon is still in the main story, just not in the first dozen chapters or so due to those reasons. ~melonkitty**


	11. The Passing Of A Memory

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Eleven: The Passing Of A Memory**

"Keridyn!" Arya called as she attempted to chase after her.

She was restrained by a firm hand, and turned to see Eragon with a look of worry on his face.

"Eragon?" She asked.

"Don't go after her." He told her. "What's happening to her would only get worse if we burdened her with our presence. Besides," He added. "She's trying to understand everything that happened. If she is alone, then her mind will sort things out, and she won't have to worry about us being hurt by it."

Angela put her hand on Arya's shoulder. "Eragon is right. Leave her be for a while, it's for the best."

Arya sat down in Keridyn's chair. "I can't believe what she's told us. It's hardly anywhere near what I thought I would hear."

_Master Glaedyr, do you know why Keridyn is so shaken by everything? _Saphira asked suddenly.

_Well, it could be for a number of reasons, but it is most likely because her mind is so different from ours. It catalogues things differently, as well as remembers them differently than how they happened. _Glaedyr explained, with a mental shudder. _For example, if she has suffered a horrible occurrence, she will remember it with the same emotions that she experienced when it occurred. In all reality, she literally relives everything she's been through. But, with more powerful emotions due to her fear and dread of that memory._

"So, while she's been telling us everything, she's been reliving it, literally?" Nasauda asked. "Experiencing fear in telling us about something that scared her."

_Yes, so be careful, tread lightly, or she may be lost forever. _Glaedyr warned before his consciousness faded.

"Eragon-" Nasauda said before he disappeared out the opening.

The three left behind watched with confused faces as he vanished.

* * *

Keridyn sat in the sand of the shore line watching the waves crash inwardly with a distant eye.

Eragon watched her with conflicting emotions. He was uncertain as to how to treat her, as someone he knew, whether for such a short time or no, or as someone he didn't and the daughter of the enemy?

"Keridyn." He said quietly.

She jerked and looked at him as if she were confused.

"Keridyn, would you mind if I asked you something?" He asked as he remained standing.

"Ask away, it matters not to me." She said returning to looking at the sea.

"Who is the father or your child?" He asked.

She glanced at him. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because, I have a feeling that the child may be judged unjustly, both for who the mother and father are, you should understand this, and I want to know because I need to know." He told her

Keridyn smiled slyly. "My _children_ will be the grandson and granddaughter of both Galbatorix and Morzan." She said.

Realization dawned on Eragon's face. "Murtagh?"

Keridyn nodded, and he noticed she flinched slightly.

"You're having twins?" He asked.

Again she nodded.

Eragon ran his hand through his hair. "How far along are you?"

"I don't know." She told him. "So, what do you think, Uncle Shadeslayer?"

He smiled slightly. "Children are the future of this nation, it will be how they judge our actions that determines the success of our efforts. Any child, be they of dishonorable circumstances or the most honorable, they will have a mind of their own, and a destiny that they themselves determine."

Keridyn smiled at him widely. "That wasn't just for them was it?"

"Most definitely not." He said with a smile. Then he sat down next to her. "I've decided how I will hold up the legacy of the free Dragon Riders."

"Oh, and how did you do that?"

"The Riders were the symbol of freedom, they were seen by the people as those to trust, not fear; they were only to be feared if you did wrong. But to be a Rider at that time, I can't imagine the pride or the happiness." He shook his head. "But I can strive for it. We of this day and age have never known it, and that's how: I will strive for that happiness and pride."

Keridyn smiled widely. "It seems like you've decided."

Eragon looked at her. "What is it that scares you the most?" He asked her suddenly.

She remained looking at the sea. "I'm afraid of a lot of things." She said after a moment. "But, I fear myself the most."

"And why is that Aiedail?" Angela asked suddenly as she came up behind them.

Eragon turned, surprised, as Keridyn turned slowly.

"The only person who can completely destroy me is myself, from the inside out. If I am not true to myself, how then, can I ever hope to be true to others?" She answered. "Myself is what I fear, because I have the power to destroy with a word, if I so choosed."

"But you know that with good reason, Aiedail." Angela told her. "Because if you do not respect that knowledge and are not careful with it, it could destroy you instead."

Eragon looked once at Keridyn. Then he resolved his earlier conundrum with one question. "Do you still love your father?"

Keridyn's eye looked distant again. "I did once, but even then it wasn't the same as what you'd think. I only knew he was my father when I was seven. By then I was old enough to understand how he was so foolish when he was younger. To me he was more of a comrade than a father, he also was very much involved in my life. There was a time when I did, now," She sighed. "Now, I don't think he can be forgiven for everything he's done to everyone."

"You're avoiding my question, do _you_ still love your father?" Eragon asked.

Keridyn laughed nervously. "I do, somewhere deep in my heart. But that was the man he was before." She turned to him, and he noticed she was crying. "I loved my father when he was my father, the fool in Urû'baen who claims to call himself King is not my father. Nor, do I believe, that I will ever consider him to be again. Not after everything he put me through. I loved the man he was, I do no love him now"

Eragon then realized that the cruelty he had known Galbatorix to have, had not always been there. The cruel King had once been a loving father to someone, to the very person in front of him. Then another thought occurred to him. "Do you love my brother, Murtagh?"

Keridyn's face turned haggard. "I do." She said after a moment. "I do, because he was kind to me." She told them. "But like everything, even that was turned against me."

_Eragon, it seems to me that Galbatorix used everything he could to break Keridyn's spirit down._ Saphira told him.

_Yes, I do believe that's what he did. She bears my niece and nephew, and I will try to rid this world of Galbatorix justly, if only to make sure that these tragedies don't befall another soul._

*** * * * * **

**I still need girl names, people!!**


	12. The Fallen Of Worth

**Alright, uhh, an intro for this is kinda hard for me to put into words, so if this sucks, just ignore it. Anyway, here, we go back to Keridyn when she is still in training with Oromis, and Vrael decides to take her on for some on the side training in swordsmanship as said before in a previous chapter, but it also goes into how Vrael died, as well as a few things afterward. Believe me, this was hard for me to write, so read it and tell me what you think. ~melonkitty**

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Twelve: The Fallen Of Worth**

"Keridyn would you come here for a moment." Oromis called. Brom sat on the ground in front of him, looking dejected.

"Yes." She said.

"Brom cannot complete the pattern dance for this set, I was wondering if you could help him." Oromis said as he motioned toward the other young rider.

"Of course." Keridyn said with a smile as she went and helped Brom up.

Oromis then noticed Vrael standing to the side and walked over to him.

"Is there anything I can help you with Vrael?" Oromis asked after bowing.

Vrael watched as Keridyn helped Brom through the pattern dance. "Why are you having Keridyn helpyou, she should be learning this as well."

"Well, you see, Keridyn already knows the pattern. She was watching some older students and asked me to teach it to her." Oromis turned to look at Keridyn and Brom as well. "She has a magnificent knack for it and learns everything the first time you teach it to her. If I didn't know better I would say that she was born for the sole purpose of being a Rider."

"Hmm." Vrael replied. "Do you mind if I give her some spare swordsmanship training?"

Oromis openly laughed. "Ask her. I've told her to pursue things beyond all she's taught but she tells me that she would rather learn at the normal pace, lest she be alienated further. I wouldn't mind, Vrael, in fact, I encourage you to do so, but it is up to her."

They both watched as Keridyn led Brom through the dance and completed it with a smile.

* * *

Keridyn ran around on a sand track, training herself harder than her peers and passing them as she went around. When she paused Vrael came over and handed her a waterskin.

"Thank you Rider Vrael." She said bowing.

"Think nothing of it, Keridyn. By the way," He said. "I was wondering if you would mind coming to the coast with me for some sparring."

Keridyn almost choked on her water. "But surely, there are better swordsman than I. You could ask Master Oromis, or-"

"I'm asking you for a reason, Keridyn. Out of most Riders here you are one of the best I've seen, and you aren't even a full-fledged Rider yet." He told her. "Don't diminish your skill, I've seen it, Oromis is a fine swordsman, but he uses you to help teach Brom and even Morzan sometimes. I'm asking _you_ if you'd like to."

Keridyn smiled and bowed. "I'd love to."

* * *

"Raise your stroke higher Keridyn." Vrael told her as they crossed blades in the sand.

They broke apart and Keridyn kneeled in the sand panting.

"You waste too much energy on small strokes." He told her passing the waterskin. "Keridyn, you may know every motion, but you're not moving into them smoothly."

Keridyn stood. "And how do I fix that?"

"You need to develop your own style of fighting." He told her.

"And how do you do that?" She asked, impatient.

He smiled. "Look around you, at life. Watch the birds, watch the sea, find your own way. I cannot help you, this isn't something that can be taught." He said sheathing his sword. "In order for your own sword to be made, you must have your own style to which a sword can be fashioned." He smiled.

Keridyn sheathed the sword she had been using. "But-"

"Keridyn, sit here, open yourself to the possibilities, and you can do it." He said. "I don't want you to leave here until you do."

Keridyn smiled slightly and bowed. "Yes Vrael-elda."

Vrael smiled and scaled the steps as Keridyn sat cross-legged in the sand.

* * *

_Watch what's around me, look at life. Open myself to the possibilities._ Keridyn thought to herself.

She cast her mind out towards the sky. There she found a bird, whose wing beats reminded her of flying with Faloreon. Then she went to the shore, and found a hermit crab in its shell, a fine defense against the gulls that wished to eat it.

But then she cast her mind out to swim beneath the crashing waves. She found a multitude of life, from little fish to a grand whale the farther she went out. Then she let her mind be carried by the waves, and marveled at their motion, to and fro, to and fro.

Around night she stood and, while still having her mind in the water, went through the dances she knew in tune with the water.

She didn't notice but around daylight, someone began clapping their hands as she completed a particularly difficult pattern.

She whirled in surprise as her mind snapped back into place.

"Well done, Keridyn." Vrael told her.

She bowed in respect.

"Now," Vrael said with a smile. "We can see whether you can beat me or not for real."

* * * * *

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Yelled a man on a battlefield holding a silver sword.

Vrael defended himself with a simple stroke as he looked away from Keridyn to Galbatorix.

"Why are you doing this, Galbatorix? She's your own child!" He yelled back.

Galbatoix smiled. "That's why I'm doing this." He replied with a glance back.

Keridyn's arms were bound behind her by welded steel, her legs were wrapped in chains, a rag was tied around her eye and bloody face, a thick gag barely let her breathe. Shurikan stood behind her, almost protectively.

"You're no longer fit to carry the Rider name." Vrael told him.

Galbatorix sneered. "I didn't want it in the first place, it isn't worth anything." He stepped forward and tripped Vrael, spearing his sword in the leaders chest as he fell.

Vrael's eyes went wide.

And then he had no head, it flew through the sky he loved.

* * * * *

"I hate you!" Keridyn yelled as he smacked her. She stood in the middle of a cell in rags with her arms chained towards the ceiling.

"I honestly don't care." He told her.

"I hate you, I wish you'd never been a Rider!" She yelled.

He punched her full in the jaw and she went slack in her chains. "I honestly wish that, too. But then you never would have been born." He sneered. "Some Riders you believe in. So simple to wipe them out, so simple to end the life of the man you cared more for than me."

Keridyn's face grew infuriated, so much that she reached out and bit the nose of the fake King before her.

"Bitch!" He yelled as he punched her again. Then he smiled through the blood on his face. "You'll grow to regret that, as well as the fact you were ever born." He said turning and walking to the door. Then he let in a man with translucent skin and fire red hair.

Keridyn's eyes went wide.

Galbatorix smiled. "I want her begging, Durza, but I want her alive. Hurt her, don't kill her." He told the Shade.

Durza nodded with a demonic grin taking the silver sword from the wall.

"Remember, _alive_." Glabatorix said as he left, locking the door.

Durza advanced with a frightening grin as he drew the sword.

* * *

**Sorry. See, hard to write, but I may have spelled Shurikan wrong, so I'll fix that later if I did. And that part with Durza's maybe during the decade after the fall of the Riders. ~melonkitty**


	13. The Children Of The Future

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Thirteen: The Children Of The Future**

"You're having twins?!" Arya asked surprised.

Everyone had returned to Nasauda's pavilion, Angela stood by the tent flap and Elva crowded Nasauda, far away from Keridyn.

"Yes." Keridyn asked with a smile and a light laugh. "A boy and a girl."

"Do you know how far along you are?" Nasauda asked.

"No I-"

"She's about a third of the way there." Angela suddenly said. "She's beginning to show now if I'm right." She said cocking her head and looking at Keridyn closely.

"I have enough of this with Roran and Katrina." Eragon said.

Arya and Nasauda laughed. "Your cousin is going to be a good father, Eragon, we all know that." Nasauda told him.

Keridyn smiled.

"Keridyn, what are their names?" Elva asked suddenly turning to her.

Keridyn was caught by surprise. "Well, I was thinking of Leoton for the boy and Bryndis for the girl."

"Leoton?" Arya asked. "Wasn't that the name of Tarshan's son?"

Keridyn nodded her head.

Arya smiled as well.

"Could I be let in this secretive circle?" Nasaud asked.

Keridyn laughed openly for the first time. "Tarshan was an old friend of mine in Ellesmera. Before Evandar left with his army and I with him, Tarshan's mate bore him a son. He was also a good friend of Arya's." Keridyn told them. "He died in the battle of Illrea."

"Ah." Nasauda stood and paced a few steps. "Well, how do you think we should tell people of your presense?" She asked turning to Keridyn.

"I say tell them the entire truth." Eragon interrupted.

Keridyn sighed. "Eragon is right." She said. "There is enough dishonesty within the Empire, tell them the truth."

Nasauda's eyebrows were in her forehead. "You're certain of this?"

Keridyn nodded. "Begin a rumor, then at the end of the week have and assembly."

You've put some thought to this over the last two weeks haven't you?" Arya asked.

Keridyn smiled.

Then, another memory burst through everyone's minds, leaving them all breathless.

Keridyn was four, fighting Arya. Arya was much older, perhaps by ten years, an obvious disadvantage to Keridyn. But Keridyn fought Arya off fairly well for someone of her age.

"Why are you doing this?" Keridyn asked once, dodging her kick.

"Because I want to." Arya replied through gritted teeth, as she repeatedly attacked.

Keridyn shoved her off, a remarkable feat. "I have done nothing to you. Justify yourself. If you have no reason for attacking your own flesh and blood then this is merely a waste of my time." She said, allowing Arya to hit her once more before retreating, limping, some distance away.

Vrael came around the corner.

Keridyn bumped into him, then noticing the person in front of her, kneeled on the floor. "Forgive me, Rider Vrael."

Vrael looked from Keridyn to Arya once. Then he laughed.

Arya's eyebrows furrowed at the sound.

"What seems to be so funny, Lord Vrael?" Arya asked serious.

Vrael took a breath before helping Keridyn to her feet.

"I am laughing because the victor of you little scramble is not who you think it to be, Arya Drottingu." Vrael said as he helped Keridyn stand.

Then Arya noticed that Keridyn may have bore more bruises, but she herself bore none, Keridyn had not fought back to hurt her, she had only defended herself.

"Now, tell me what this is about young Keridyn." Vrael said kneeling so that he was level with the young girl's gaze.

"I do not know, fully." Keridyn replied. "Arya simply began to attack me, you would have to ask her for a full reason."

"Ah." Vrael said turning to Arya. "Well, do you have an explanation for attacking your own cousin?" He asked her.

Arya stood there in a confused fury. "How can you not know? How can you stand there next to her and not be filled with fury over the indecency of her mother's actions?"

"Because I have not judged her prematurely." Vrael replied straight faced.

Arya took a step back from the tone in Vrael's voice.

"She is a remarkable person when you get to know her, Arya." He told her as he stood and carried Keridyn with him. "She is nowhere near the person the entire elven race thinks her to be." He turned. "If I were you I would beg her forgivness, for if you had not noticed, she defended herself from you, yet did not lay a finger on you in hate."

Everyone in the pavilion looked at Keridyn and Arya when the flashback had ended and was surprised to find Keridyn sitting on the floor.

"You hated her?" Eragon asked stunned.

Arya nodded slowly.

"Every elf in the nation hated me if they found out who I was. The only ones who never did were my mother, Evandar, Vrael, and Oromis. Islanzadi even tried to reprimand my mother for her foolishness." Keridyn told her. Then she turned to Eragon suddenly.

"What?" He asked.

Keridyn shook her head. "It's nothing." She said standing. "So what's this about some people named Roran and Katrina?"

Eragon smiled. "Roran is my cousin, and Katrina is his wife." He told her. "Katrina is as of yet, quite pregnant."

"Ah." Keridyn said.

"Keridyn," Elva called.

They all looked at her.

"Do you love Murtagh enough to give your life in exchange for his?" She asked calmly.

Keridyn's eyes went wide. "What do you-"

"I asked the question precisely how I meant it." Elva said.

Keridyn regarded the girl carefully.

After a tense moment, Elva spoke with a slight smile. "Of course."

This left everyone else in a state of confusion.

Elva laughed slightly after anther moment before retreating into her hidden panel behind Nasauda's large chair.

"What was that all about?" Eragon asked.

"Believe me, you do not wish to know." Keridyn said.

After a few hours of deciding military tactics and how they would move on to the next town Keridyn spoke to Eragon.

"Would you take me on a tour of the Varden camp?" She asked.

Eragon was surprised that she was asking him. "Uh- certainly."

"Be careful, here." Nasauda said handing Keridyn a pair of black gloves.

"Thanks." Keridyn said as she pulled the gloves on and rolled down the sleeves of her maroon tunic.

"That color suits you much better than the white you usually favor." Elva commented.

Eragon shook his head at the mysterious girl as he and Keridyn walked out of the pavilion. Nasauda's guards nodded to them as Eragon's surrounded them.

"Blödgharm?" Keridyn asked as she saw him.

"Ah." Blödgharm said as he saw her. "So, the rumor is true, a Rider has been found. Though, I must say, I did not expect it to be you Keridyn."

"You two know eachother?" Eragon asked.

"Yes, actually." Blödgharm replied. "Keridyn asked me once how she could change her appearance. I am glad though that she did not do so at the time. Forgive me for asking, Keridyn, but did the King do all that to you?"

"Indeed." Keridyn said in a deep tone. "But I would rather have lost my life honorably than have been imprisoned in the fashion that I was."

Blödgharm nodded his head and said not another word to them.

"This is the infirmary." Eragon told her as they passed a rather large tent.

Keridyn stopped. Then she approached the tent slowly.

She heard many moans of pain, and felt that the overall energy of the place was rather depressing.

She entered slowly, looking at the healers that scuttled about.

There were many wounded, even after such a time. Keridyn looked around, walking around cots and looking at the people in them, with mixed feelings.

One man grabbed her hand as he walked.

Keridyn looked down at the man with teary eyes. His eye had been lost, he sat up weakly and his legs had been severed by an enemy sword. Blood still faintly stained the bandages.

"My Lady, you and I are just the same." He told her pointing to his face.

Keridyn smiled slightly. "Mine was lost a long time ago." She told him.

"Don't matter, we are still the same." He said. "Both in appearance and heart."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked.

"We all fight for one cause." He replied with a wheeze. "We all fight for our freedom, to rid ourselves of the injustice done to us by a madman who isn't worthy of carrying a title such as King of this land."

Keridyn smiled. "You have no idea just how mad the King truly is." She said sitting down on the foot of the cot.

"And you do?" The man asked, dubious.

"I have a fairly clear idea." Keridyn said nodding. "The King is mad enough to destroy everything he once believed in with his whole heart. He is mad enough to murder the woman whom he loved enough to die for. He has lost his sense of justice enough to condemn innocent men to death. And-" Keridyn stopped to wipe away her tears. "And he has lost himself to where he would torture his own child for believing in what he himself once did." She got up suddenly and walked to the door, leaving the man staring after her.

"It takes great courage to cry in front of a man, my Lady." He called after her.

Eragon stood there motionless for a moment, watching Keridyn compose herself.

"That was well said." He told her.

"I didn't mean to do that. It just seemed right to say it that way." She replied.

Eragon smiled. "It doesn't matter to me, it just depends on how it will affect you later. Say what comes to you mind, with all your heart, and make sure you mean everything when you say it."

Keridyn looked at him suddenly again as she had before.

"What is it?" He asked.

"N-nothing." Keridyn told him.

"Keridyn, you did that earlier, what is it?" He insisted.

Keridyn smiled deeply. "It was really just nothing, when you say things like that you really remind me of Vrael."Keridyn laughed a bit. "But you're more like your father than you think, believe me."

Eragon smiled and put his hand on Keridyn's shoulder. "Thank you."

Keridyn smiled and they continued down the lanes of tents.

* * *

**Thanks for the names guys! I decided to go with Bryndis as suggested by 1pepsi1obsessed . **

**Bryndis~ (Brin-diss)**

**Leoton~(Lee-ton)**


	14. Chaos Rampant

**Don't get too confused. I decided to do this in Keridyn's point of view this time, but it isn't any specific time in the past, it's more of a journal entry of some sort that might have been written if she could have written it. ~melonkitty**

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Fourteen: Chaos Rampant**

Too many. I have nearly lost count, they pass with such fluidity that my mind cannot hope to follow their wandering path. The years now blur together. But it is not the time that worries or concerns me. It is the future.

When I am freed from his presence, I will recreate that which has been undone. I will rebuild that which has been destroyed. I must restore the legacy of the Riders, no matter the cost.

It pains me to see the man he has become. He believed in everything the Riders stood for with all his heart, and then he turned and destroyed it later. It is sad to see him in this state of utter confusion and angering to know he is now so power-hungry. Though this may be sad, what actually brings tears to my eyes is his loss of self. He has so forgotten who he is that he turns on his own reflection with suspicion. My father is truly mad.

The never-ending torture that I numbly endure has stripped me of every ounce of dignity that I once had. He prefers that he bring my suffering, but I have had many torturers over the blurring time. Some who preferred leaving me half dead, others who preferred to publicly humiliate me, and one who virtually guts me like a pig with every word I say.

If he believes I will join him after all that has been done and cannot be amended, then he is even farther lost that previously thought.

My world shattered like ice dropped to the ground. My mother,, my dragon, my way of life, all taken. My very own tool of justice used on my own body like a butchers knife. Everything turned against me. The sand of the hourglass choking as it trickles into the bottom that is my prison.

I believe even I, am mad now.


	15. Revelation Apparent

**Tears of the Wronged**

An Inheritance Fanfic

Note: based after Brisingr

**Fifteen: Revelation Apparent**

Elva watched as Keridyn slept. She was pale, and was becoming warm to the touch, developing a fever. Her breathing, although even and regular most of the time, would frequently become quick and shallow. She sensed the things that she dreamed about, and shuddered at the thought of them.

"So it's settled. We'll spread the rumor, like Keridyn suggested, and, at the end of the week, confirm it." Nasauda told those gathered.

With her, Arya, Angela, and Eragon, there was Jormunder, as well as Roran.

Jormunder shifted uneasily and was noticed by the Rider. "What is it, Jormunder?" He asked as everyone watched.

Jormunder met everyone's gaze steadily. "This is a most strange situation, is all, but I have to ask, why you are telling us this in advance."

Nasauda took a deep breath and sat in her chair. "What I am about to tell you is quite shocking." She met the eyes of everyone in the pavilion, before looking at the sleeping form of Keridyn. "It is with her confidence that you do not act on an impulse that you would undoubtedly come to regret as I tell you this, what she needs everyone to know."

"What is it?" Roran asked impatiently.

Everyone looked at Keridyn as she shifted in her sleep, Elva cringed, and then everyone watched as Arya walked over to put a cool cloth on Keridyn's forehead.

"She's burning up again." Arya told her.

Nasauda sighed, then turned back to the gathering. "Keridyn's current state is undesirable, to say the least. Not only was she tortured by the King relentlessly for a century, but it was by her own father's hands that her mother and dragon were killed. She will undoubtedly be a most valuable resource, but only if we do not judge her by who her father is."

"And who is her father?" Jormunder asked.

"King Galbatorix." Nasauda said flatly.

Gasps resounded all around as they all stared at the girl before them.

"Why did you not tell us sooner?" Jormunder asked as though he was hurt.

Eragon met the man's gaze without faltering. "Imagine your life, living what you knew to be an honorable life and serving the nation dutifully. Then imagine your own father taking everything you ever loved, and destroying it as though it pleased him to no end." Eragon paused dramatically. "The life of a Rider was all she ever wanted, all she lived for. And then the man who gave her that life, destroyed it all."

Elva looked over at Keridyn and she flinched again. "None of you, save Eragon, understand how deep the bond of dragon and Rider goes." She said mysteriously. "With a magnificent animal you share your life, your thoughts, the very things that make you who you are. Losing that, most go insane." Elva put her hand on Keridyn's forehead and the girl stopped shivering. "For a century her father has berated her mind and tortured her body, do not judge prematurely, Jormunder. She deserves our respect, not our prejudice. She has been the one to suffer for the actions of the Varden, and she holds that, not against us, but against him."

"What are you saying Elva?" Jormunder asked as he watched the strange look on her face.

"I'm saying that we should thank her for being his daughter." She told him. "Not only for what she endured at his hands, but also at what she will inevitably endure to come. I can't help but sense every feeling she has, and I really am afraid. For the first time in a while, I fear my own abilities, if this goes on long enough not only will she lose her sanity, but I will as well."

Jormunder ran his hand through his hair. "How long has she been sick?" He asked.

"Since long before we got her out of that dungeon." Arya told him. "Physically she was weak, but mentally," Arya shook her head. "Mentally, she's been deteriorating for a hundred years."

"If she survives her own mind remembering everything repeatedly, she will be a force to reckon with." Eragon said out of the blue. "From what I've seen she was a powerful Rider, but that changed when everything fell apart."

"It did more than fall apart." Came Keridyn's raspy voice.

Jormunder looked at the conscious girl carefully.

"Everything I _ever_ loved was turned against me." She said. Then coughed.

A memory escaped and showed itself in everyone's minds and Elva was crying from it.

Keridyn was in chains. She was drugged senseless as she watched her father walk around her. Her own sword within his hand.

"I don't understand you." He said as he grabbed a fistful of her hair and brought the sword around to her throat. "Why don't you just forget it?"

She gasped at the steel on her neck and flinched as it cut her slightly. "Because, that's not what you taught me."

This, unfortunately, was not what he had wanted to hear. Growling, he took the sword and cut open her shoulder, watching with a smile as her blood dripped to the floor steadily. "Until you realize that I am no longer the same man as your father, I will spill the blood I gave you, because it is mine." He said with a feral grin on his face.

She blinked at the pain in her shoulder, but kept herself from tears. Then she realized that she was laughing.

"What do you find so funny?" He asked.

"You." She laughed. "The complexity of this situation, everything about this, and it isn't funny." She said suddenly serious. "It's maddening."

He was enraged. He took a step forward.

"Don't bother." She said. "Because, I'm too much like you. I will over throw you, very much like you overthrew the Riders. Just you wait." She said as he struck her arm with the flat of the blade.

A sickening crack could be heard, and a scream.

And suddenly everyone was back in the pavilion. Keridyn slept, fitfully for a moment before she settled and her fever rose.

Elva was in tears. Nasauda looked at Keridyn with admiration and sadness.

"What has he done?" Jormunder asked of no one in particular.

"He's destroyed the Rider name: everything they accomplished, everything they stood for, everything they could have done, that is what has been done. That is what needs to be righted." Eragon answered him. "What you just saw is undoubtedly one memory out of thousands and thousands."

Jormunder turned to Nasauda. "We shall create the rumor." He bowed, then left.

Nasuada sat in her chair and sighed. "How could she develop a fever so quickly? Just a day ago you led her through the encampment." She directed at Eragon.

"She's been sick from the start." Elva told her.

"Would care to explain that." Nasauda asked.

"She's been ill for a long time. She's just strong enough that if she loses a lot of energy, it doesn't tend to show for some time." Arya told them. "I should have suspected this when she fared badly in our sparring match."

"You all have nothing to worry about." Angela told them. "She will get over this, it will just take time."

"Time is something we have little of." Nasauda remarked.

"Time is something she needs." Eragon replied. "We are hardly in a state to go after more of the Empire too quickly. Advancing slowly enough will give people time to recuperate as well as to prepare a better battle front."

Nasauda nodded.

"I suggest keeping her in here for the time being." He said. "With the rumors started people will be wary."

"I will stay with her." Elva said.

"Good." Nasauda said. "I suggest that those here make more appearances. We don't want people to think that we take this to be an overly important matter."

Everyone nodded.

* * *

_Eragon, is something troubling you?_ Saphira asked as he left the pavilion.

_It astonishes me how fast her health deteriorated. A few days ago she was fighting with Arya! Now look, confined to a bed and weak from fever._

_That isn't answering my question._

_Sorry Saphira. Yes in fact something is troubling me._

_And what would that be? The fact that she bears the children of your half brother? Or is it the fact that she loves him?_

_Some of both. But thanks to the fact that he is loved, I believe I can save him. If he can change, so that his name changes, then he is free._

_You hold out hope, Eragon but what if he doesn't want to, or cannot be freed?_

_Do not speak of it as if it were so! He can be saved, I believe that. But now it isn't just out of a brotherly bond or friendship, he will have children, Saphira. _

_And of what concern is that._

_I want them to know their father._ He thought sadly. _I accept that I am their uncle, but I want them to know their father, not just stories from her._

_What about what she wants?_ Saphira asked cautiously.

Eragon paused in his thoughts. _The opportunity will be there, I will let her make the final decision._

And with that he entered his own tent and began to ready for sleep.

* * *

"Nasauda." Elva called.

The woman rushed over to see Keridyn sweating and breathing heavily and Arya placing another cold, wet, cloth on her forehead. Angela was out getting things from her own tent.

"She's grown worse." Nasauda said. "There's nothing that magic can do for her?"

Arya shook her head. "No, I've tried everything I know."

Elva looked at Nasauda. "She wants to talk to you." She told her.

"What is it?"

"She's worried for the children. She wants to know if they're alright." Elva said.

"We don't know without Angela here." Nasauda said.

And then Angela entered the pavilion. "They should be alright, but if this continues, it could hurt them."

Elva flinched visibly and dropped the hand she had been holding like it had been a hot stone.

Then Keridyn stopped sweating and her breathing skipped and then returned to normal.

"What did she do?" Nasada asked.

"She remembered a previous fever, but this, this was induced by poison." Elva said.

Arya eyes went wide. " Was it-"

Elva nodded.

"That's impossible, nobody has survived Skilna Bragh without an antidote." Arya commented.

Angela went over and checked her as she slept, continually putting her hand on Keridyn forehead.

"She's going to recover, luckily, she kept the poison from reaching the children, they'll be fine." She shook her head in amazement. "I knew she was strong but this…"

Elva left the room, heading for Eragon's as the other spoke.

* * *

"Eragon." Called Elva when she had reached his tent.

"Elva?" He asked as he opened the flap. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, she's recovering now, but I wanted to tell you something." She told him.

"Oh. Then come in, come in." He told her holding the flap open.

"No, what I have to be said can be said here." She told him waving him off.

"Alright, what is it?" He asked.

"She loves him." Elva said. "Very deeply, if I'm right. But, what worries me is the fact that she would give her life in exchange for his."

"That seems very noble, Elva, I'm not sure if I'm following what you mean."

"She intends to bargain for his life after she gives birth to the children." Elva said suddenly. "She will go to Urubaen, after they are born and exchange his life for her own. She is going to free him, then try to kill the King, and if possible, get killed in the process."

* * * * * * * * *

**Sorry, but I love cliffhangers. ~melonkitty**


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